Gustave Courbet’s famous line, “I can’t paint an angel because I’ve never seen one,” expressed a whole new way of thinking about art and the world. The so-called Realist artists rejected past themes such as history, religion, and mythology, and painted what they knew and experienced: Rosa Bonheur, the animal world; Courbet and Jean-François Millet, the life and landscape of the country; Honoré Daumier, political subjects and the plight of the urban poor; and Edouard Manet, the more privileged life of the city.

About the 150 Years of Contemporary Art Lecture Series

This lecture series, held every two years in conjunction with the Education Department’s docent training course, will cover the history of art from the mid-nineteenth century through 2012. Curator of Education Mariann Smith and Associate Curator of Education Nancy Spector will focus on works in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s Collection as they cover both the art and the history of the past 150 years. The series continues through Saturday, March 16, 2013. Doors for all lectures open at 11 am. View Full Schedule